In this section we reflect on how the BCGA came into being and give a chronological study of the different forces which enabled it to prosper for 25 years, as well as giving some indications of the legacy it left for future generations.
The Birth of the British Church Growth Association (BCGA)
The BCGA (British Church Growth Association) was launched in September 1981 shortly after the 1980 National Congress on Evangelism and held the first Council Meeting in February 1982. It then circulated its first brochure by the end of that month.
From its inception the BCGA was always blessed with a very diverse Council of up-and-coming leaders from all denominations, chosen by its members from its membership for a specific period of time. Its trust deed limited it to between 12 and 22 members, drawn from practitioners, researchers, teachers and denominational leaders with just three meetings a year and lots of sub-committees on which everyone served and pulled their weight in one way or another – we only employed a part-time secretary during the 25 years I was involved. We rarely had less than 20 leaders meeting together on these occasions, flying or travelling in from all over the country and taking it in turns to be hosts – many making it a necessary priority for their diaries. One of the meetings each year was scheduled to be a full day, sometimes overnight, when there was always a debate on topical church growth issues. It became an amazing think tank, tackling difficult issues but supporting each other along the way. These debates are being drawn together and will appear on our website in the near future.
The 1980s were a significant time for Christians in the UK. The Western church had been declining since the 1960s and although, at that time, the six traditionally accepted churches* were still a significant voice in the British Isles, apathy and nominalism had set in, which many saw as a death knell for Christianity. The decline at that time may not have been as obvious as it is today, but steps were taken to understand changes that needed to be made - not only to prevent further decline but also to promote growth. Fortunately, the Christian presence had been expanding world-wide (and still is), and the countries sending out missionaries to ‘their ends of the earth’ had been taking up the challenge of sending missionaries into our country too.
Among those who recognised the start of decline and the need for action in 1975 was Archbishop Donald Coggan with his ‘Call to the Nation’, which led to two different gatherings to promote the 1980s Decade of Evangelism (we touched on this in February 2022 news update). A driving force behind the Evangelical Alliance National Congress in 1980 was a small group with a ‘Church Growth’ vision who provided support through the Church Growth Digest and came into being in 1984 on a much wider basis as the British Church Growth Association. We have all the records of the 25 years when we were actively involved and these are now available as an archival file to help others. Like the prophet Jeremiah, the BCGA recognised the need to break down the barriers to growth that had been erected in many churches as well as the need to plant new ideas and structures.
Here is the very first 8-page issue of the Church Growth Digest. First edition of the Church Growth Digest It had a further pull-out section on courses and ministries already set up and willing to help, and was given out free at the 1980 EA Congress. The subsequent development of the Church Growth Digest over the next 25 years included keeping up-to-date with research and trends and producing a number of supplements such as the Church Planting Network Newssheet, Celebrating the Small Church, Natural Church Development Supplement and the Global and European Matters Network. Church Growth supplements
*The six were Roman Catholic, Church of England, Methodist, Baptist, Congregational and Presbyterian. In the 1960s, the Pentecostals were still thought to be nearing heretical on the continent. Other Independent groups were either not thought to be churches or not large enough to count.
Going Deeper and Wider
There were a number of the different strands of the BCGA, all of which produced separate supplements and mailings. The first of these was the ‘Small Church Network’, originally called ‘Celebrating the Small Church’ and produced quarterly issues from 1996 for at least the next seven years with all the resources to assist and support small churches that we had built up. Our recent BCGA networking has brought us back in touch with Rev Daniel Yarnell, who jointly with Rev Dr Martin Robinson, published “Celebrating the Small Church”. Dan became the Small Church Coordinator from the start and is still continuing this ministry on a much wider basis – see his ‘Annotated Bibliography for Small Churches’. From 2004 the BCGA concentrated much more on Natural Church Development and changed its name to Healthy Church UK.
The full version of that first Church Growth Digest and all the subsequent copies are available in the resources section of our website. Church Growth Digests